Midland's Roberson putting up big numbers in short amount of time

Published 7:00 pm, Wednesday, November 7, 2007

When Midland High began its football season back in August, Colter Roberson wasn't in the Chemics' lineup. But Roberson has more than made up for lost time.

In just eight games, the 5-foot, 8-inch, 170-pound Roberson has emerged as one of the top running backs in the league, if not the entire state. He hopes to add to his gaudy totals Friday night when the Chemics host Davison in a Division 2 regional championship at Midland Stadium.

"Not at all," Roberson said when asked if he expected to be in this position with so many yards (1,042) and touchdowns (25). "It was really hard missing the first three games and coming back the way I did. I'm just happy with the results."

Roberson wasn't eligible to play in the Chemics' first three games due to a training rules violation which occurred over the summer. He had to sit and watch his teammates perform, which included a loss in the opener to Mount Pleasant.

"It was very tough not playing because it was my senior year and you don't want to miss a game," Roberson said. "You want to go out there and make your team better."

In his first game of the season, Roberson rushed for 119 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Saginaw High. He solidified a backfield that already consisted of capable runners Michael Albrecht and Joel Parsons.

"Colter was anxious to get back," Midland coach Terry Wilczek said. "We didn't know exactly how we were going to use him. We experimented with some things and we were doing things on a week to week basis on how to use him. It's still kind of a little bit on defense. But over the last couple of weeks on offense, he's been our No. 1 guy at running back."

From there, it's been a case of "Can you top this?"

Against Flint Northern, he caught a pair of touchdowns and ran for a third in a lopsided victory.

Against Bay City Western, he rushed for 170 yards and scored four touchdowns.

Against Bay City Central in the playoffs, he scored four touchdowns and gained 118 yards.

But his best performance came in the opening round of the playoffs against Saginaw Arthur Hill. He rushed 26 times for 216 yards and scored five touchdowns. On top of that, he made two interceptions on defense.

"He's hot right now and he's doing a great job," Wilczek said. "He's been durable and he plays on both sides of the ball, which has been an asset for us."

The only game the Chemics have lost with Roberson in the lineup was a 20-19 decision to Flint Southwestern. He rushed for 172 yards and scored a TD in that contest.

"That was probably my toughest game because that was the first fumble that I've ever had," Roberson said. "It was pretty emotional because we thought we could have had them. We held (Mark) Ingram to 76 yards. After that, we knew we were a good team. That was a reality check and we built on that."

Roberson had 16 touchdowns during the regular season and has nine in two playoff victories.

Roberson and his teammates are just two wins away from accomplishing their goal of reaching the state title game at Ford Field. But first, the Chemics need to knock off a red-hot Davison squad.

"They have a big (offensive) line, so it's going to be interesting on defense," Roberson said. "I think it will be a good matchup."

Overcoming adversity is nothing new to Roberson. Last year, he opened his junior year as the team's starting running back. But in the first game of the season against Mount Pleasant, he suffered an ankle injury and missed virtually the entire regular season.

"Last year was tough, getting hurt in the second game and not coming back until the playoffs," Roberson said.

Roberson's ability to battle back from adversity is one trait that, according to Wilczek, many of the Chemic players possess.

"It's kind of been the character of our team," Wilczek said. "No matter what happens, we deal with it. We're kind of resilient and that's how Colter deals with it. He doesn't get too high or too low, not to say that he doesn't get excited. It's a workmanlike attitude."

Roberson began playing football at the age of 7.

"I have no idea how that started," Roberson said. "I played soccer and I told my mom and dad one year that I wanted to play football. So I tried that out, and it's worked out from there."